Anknel and Burblets

dreams come out my ears and go round my head and i read them.

  • The little living room, a lovely new chair, and beautiful new cushions

    Well, we are nearing the end of the little house series. The little house that has seen us tucked away in a happy little corner of The Cotswolds. Our little place, by our favourite place, Daylesford Farm. Only the kitchen and the garden left – and by that time our purpose here will have been…

  • Camping in Kent

    Last weekend we filled our car with pretty, warm bedding and off we drove, down the M40, onto the M25 and Kentward bound. And because we had filled our car beyond breaking point with pillows, duvets, gumboots and raincoats, we only had a tiny bit of room to fit a small box of food and…

  • Petite bedroom

    The littlest room in the littlest house. It’s my favourite (when it’s tidy).  An abundance of colour and pretty things, the girls love throwing everything on the floor and jumping on their beds. Hooray! I love it when it’s tidy – and we regularly comb through the mess and purge any plastic that may have…

  • Giffords Circus at Daylesford Organic Farm in Kingham – June 2013

    Definitely the greatest show on Earth – friends have been recommending Giffords Circus to me for years. It’s traditional, it’s funny, it’s entertaining and musical – and it’s also amazingly impressive on all fronts. This year their very highbrow circus was hijacked by a troupe of Serbian and Ukranian performers who definitely lowered the tone…

  • Pin it forward – Pinterest UK official launch

    My first experience with Pinterest was in September 2010 when Alison sent me an invite. Chris Jones was my first follower and Yvonne was my second. At that time I often used the interface design for work inspiration as so many of the sites I was working on were all about curating personal collections or…

  • A Cotswolds bedroom: Garden Trading Brompton Lamp and Farrow and Ball fixes

    Welcome to our teeny tiny little bedroom! It just fits our gigantic superking IKEA bed in it – a bed I am very keen to replace, or paint, or chop the headboard off. Slowly slowly I’m changing our mid century and modern furniture. Fixing it up, tightening old screws, hammering old nails back in place. And…

  • The Wilderness Treasure Hunt

    Last weekend we wrapped up warm and headed over to the magical Cornbury Estate for the Wilderness Treasure Hunt. In the lead-up to the Wilderness Festival in August, local residents are invited along to a few special events which are just brilliant for the children – and indeed fun for the grown-ups too. A taste…

  • Hark, hark! The bluebells are out

    We had some lovely weather this weekend – and a lovely trip to Foxholes to see the bluebells in bloom. Edith took her camera and Astrid played by her favourite tree in the clearing where the bluebells flower. We came here last year, on one of our trips to Daylesford. To get to Foxholes, take…

  • Almond milk and raspberry soft serve ice cream

    With the warm weather upon us I’ve been able to indulge my love for soft serve ice cream – hand made of course. The girls and I eat this for breakfast every day. And every day we choose a different variety of frozen fruit for a different flavour. Some days it’s mango, others strawberry, vanilla…

  • Mari Vanna – Russian restaurant in Knightsbridge

    A few weeks ago I received an email about Mari Vanna, a fairly new Russian restaurant in Knightsbridge. Their wholewheat pancakes looked so gorgeous I emailed right back to say so – you all know I love baking with whole grains. Two weeks later a little surprise – they asked if I’d like to come…

  • A little white Cotswolds cottage bathroom

    Our current bathroom must be the smallest bathroom I’ve lived with so far. You need to close the door to open the airing cupboard door, but it’s functional nonetheless. And, did I mention pretty? Because pretty is one thing our bathroom most definitely is. In true Cotswolds farm cottage style the bathroom fittings are very…

  • Let the light shine in

    When VELUX® asked if I’d look at some skylight inspiration I was happy to, because I think light is such an important factor in a home, and indeed personal happiness. I love to sleep where I can see the sky. Especially in summer with the late sunsets, I love to watch the stars and moon…